Here's a perfect example of how industry-sponsored lobby groups distort good science, de-rail reasonable policy, and sabotage practical initiatives that save lives:
Sally Pipes, the CEO and President of the Pacific Research Institute, authored an op-ed in the Bellingham Tribune entitled: "Thailand's misuse of 'compulsory licensing' allowed corrupt officials to steal millions".
The article is a bunch of lies. Period.
Robert Weissman, the director of Essential Action, "a public health advocacy and corporate accountability group based in Washington," replies to Pipes' hack-job in yesterday's Bellingham Tribune.
Weissman refutes Pipes' baseless claims one by one. He also points out a minor conflict of interest that Pipes' failed to disclose...
And that's just where the fun begins
Turns out, Pipes and her institute are loyal cogs in the corporate right's noise machine. As President and CEO of PRI, much of Pipes' salary and organizational support comes from the same pharmaceutical firms that oppose compulsory licensing.
Check out thisfact sheet from exxonsecrets.org on PRI's support. This so-called "think tank" churns out junk science and editorials at lightning speed. It also just happens to oppose global warming, telecommunications regulations, compulsory licensing, affirmative action and government-supported healthcare reform while accepting funding from the oil industry, the telecommunications industry, big pharma, and a whole slew of conservative foundations including Scaife, Olin, Roe, Templeton and others.
Oh, and did I mention that PRI also uses junk economics and butchered data to support "Tort Reform"?
Big tobacco? Yep, PRI's got that covered too.
PRI also just happened to receive over $10,000 in funding from the White House Writer's Group according to it's 2003 financials.
To be fair, I don't find anything wrong with taking money from folks who share your views on political issues. Problem is, when you do that, you really owe it to the newspaper reading and television-watching public to disclose your relationships to your paymasters. That's why what Pipes did was wrong. That's why I'm calling her an unethical hack.
That's also why the next time a quote shows up from one of these folks in your local paper or on your television news, you should write a letter to the editor (and feel free to include as much information from this post as you can) letting them know that Pipes and her PRI pals need to play by the rules of responsible journalism.
(h/t to Sarah Rimmington on the A2K email list for the links to the Bellingham Tribune stories by Weissman and Pipes)
cross-posted at fringethoughts.